


A Vignette of Distant Sorrow

by SophieRipley



Category: Zootopia (2016)
Genre: Anger, Nick is dead, One Shot, Threats of Violence, Vignette
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-07-17
Updated: 2016-07-17
Packaged: 2018-07-24 15:54:13
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 606
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7514291
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SophieRipley/pseuds/SophieRipley
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Judy Hopps is police chief of Precinct One; she's older, wiser...meaner.  The years have not been kind.  Her partner is long-dead when someone eerily and painfully similar joins the force.</p>
            </blockquote>





	A Vignette of Distant Sorrow

Judy Hopps was a chief of great renown at the Zootopia Police Department.  It took her half as long as most mammals to achieve this rank, speeding through the ranks over the years as only she could.

The chief when she joined the force was one Chief Bogo, a buffalo known for nothing more than his gruff, angry manner and constant ill mood.  The older officers at Precinct one say that when Bogo died his meanness had transferred to Hopps, only amplified.  The older officers also say that any day in which Chief Judy Hopps doesn’t begin by shouting and belittling your ancestors is going to be a very bad day indeed, because that means she’s in a _bad_ mood. To compare her to a hardass is to compare the hardness of steel to butter.

Though they might joke, there is one thing older officers always told new recruits with complete seriousness:  “Never ever call Chief Hopps by anything but ‘Chief Hopps.’”  They knew she didn’t get along with others, didn’t tolerate friendliness between her and her coworkers.  Rumor had it she had been different once, had even worked with a partner soon after joining the force, but nobody dared ask her to verify the claim.  

Unfortunately, one brand new recruit didn’t listen to the advice of his elders.  He was a fox; not the first fox on the force by a long shot, but he was only the second male red fox ever assigned to Precinct One.  He was cocky and flamboyant, joking and laughing with the other officers in the bullpen as if he’d been there for years.  But then Chief Hopps entered the room.  Everyone fell silent as she padded across the room and climbed atop the comparatively huge podium.

Everyone except the new fox, who continued to chuckle from his last-spoken joke.

“We have a new recruit,” Chief Hopps said, quietly.  That she didn’t growl the words or yell them was a bad sign.  “Normally I wouldn’t give that any more attention than that, but he happens to be the second ever red fox assigned to my precinct.  Welcome to Precinct One, Officer Bradley Wilde.  Now shut your goddamn mouth and laugh on your own dime.”  She cleared her throat and lifted the first case file in preparation to begin handing out assignments…and the recruit made his first mistake.

“What’s got a burr in your tail, Carrots?” His comment was accompanied with a smirk and a glance to his neighbor, who stared down at him in horror.

Chief Hopps slowly lowered the case file and looked at the fox with a carefully blank expression.

“You’re gonna want to refrain from calling me Carrots,” she deadpanned.  

Bradley Wilde made his last mistake.

“My bad, Chief.  I just assumed you came from some carrot-swamped podunk.”  Judy’s nose twitched just briefly and her long, scarred ears gracefully swept behind her to lay flat on the back of her head as her eyes narrowed.  It was clear to all who knew her in this room that she was becoming emotional.

“Let me make this very clear to you, Bradley Wilde.”  There was an ever-so-slight quiver in her voice that chilled all the experienced officers to the bone.  “Your grandfather may have been _The Nicholas Piberius Wilde_ , hero of the Battle of Savannah Central, but in _my_  precinct you are exactly nothing.  Less than a nursing kitten.”  Hopps very carefully leaned forward over the podium, looking deep into the fox’s green eyes.

“You need to understand:  the only other person who has ever called me Carrots is dead now.  Don’t make me send you to him.”

**Author's Note:**

> I don’t know where this came from or why I wrote it, but here it is. The parallels in dialogue were deliberate on my part, but entirely coincidental on Bradley’s. I hope someone enjoys this.
> 
> Additional Note: I now have the backstory to this in the form of "Steel Runs Through Her" which can be found in my Zootopia stories. If you would like to see what led up to this, I invite you to take a look at that.


End file.
